Improvement in organ-reeds



H. K. WHITE. Organ-Reed.

No. 208,228. Pafevmed April 80,1878.

NEUES. PHOTO-UTHDGRAPHER. WASHINGTON. n C.

UNITED STATES PATENT CFFICE.

HENRY K. WHITE, OF WEST MERIDEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO WILCOX St WHITE ORGAN COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN ORGAN-REEDS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 203,228, dated April 30, 1878; application filed March 4, 1878.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY K. WHITE, of West Meriden, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new Improvement in Reeds for Musical Instruments; and I do hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and the letters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, and which said drawings constitute part of this specification, and represent, in-

Figure l, perspective view; Figs. 2 and 3, longitudinal sections; Fig. 4, longitudinal section of the usual construction.

This invention relates to an improvement in reeds for organs and similar instruments.

In the usual construction the tongues are made from thick metal, secured by one end to the body, and the metal reduced from the point where the opening in the body commences, as seen in Fig. 4. The vibration of the tongue therefore extends entirely to the bearing of the tongue on the body, and, because of the vibration coming so close to or in actual contact with the body of the reed, the full power of the vibration cannot be attained.

The object of this invention is to avoid this deadening of the vibration of the tongue; and consists in extending the tongue full thickness beyond the end of the opening in the body and commencing the reduction at a point distant from the opening at the bearing end of the body.

A represents the body of the reed, in which the opening a is formed in substantially the usual manner. The tongue is constructed frommetal of the usual thickness, and attached to the body at one end of the opening, as at b, the attachment being substantially that in other reeds. The thickness of the tongue is retained to a point considerably distant from the rear end el of the opening-say as at e. From that point forward the metal is reduced to form the tongue or vibrating portion f, which has its usual relative position to the opening. By thus extending the metal full thickness over the opening and distant from the point of bearing d, the vibration of the active portion f is free 5 and, while it necessarily extends somewhat into the thicker portion, the vibration will have been exhausted before it reaches the body, hence a much freer and purer tone is produced than can be where the active vibration extends onto the body, as in the usual construction.

I claim- The herein-described improvement in reeds for musical instruments, consisting in the tongue, reduced from a point distant from the rear end of the opening in the body, and so as to leave substantially full thickness of tongue between the rear end of opening and the point where said reduction commences, substantially as described.

HENRY K. WHITE.

Witnesses:

W. N. BAKER, J. H. WHITE. 

